The Gooch

QUOTE (GoSox05 @ Jan 12, 2011 -> 10:00 AM) People are way to concerned about the Packers running game. It's not 1976. You don't need to run the ball. I can tell your a Packers fan, but did you see what the Bears offense looked like earlier in the year before they were running the ball? It pretty much consisted of Cutler eating dirt and throwing the ball to the other team (which I know he has done a lot in his career, but not since the bye week) The Packers would have made it into the playoffs much easier if they had Ryan Grant this season as well.

QUOTE (PlunketChris @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 02:14 PM) I agree with everything you've said, and I hope you're right, but to be a first ballot guy is a very special thing. Voters have always had a difficult time putting players who primarily played as Designated Hitters into the hall. Eventually the voters will let go of the stigma of "he didn't play the field", but as of now, Paul Molitor is the only player in the Hall of Fame as a designated hitter. He played 44% of his games at DH and the other 56% of his games were spread around the entire field, literally playing every fielding position besides catcher throughout his career. Frank would be the first player to make it into the hall having played more than half of his games at DH and he played the remainder of his games at first base which is one of the least respected defensive positions around baseball. On top of that, writers are also now having a tough time letting a power hitter from the steroid era into the club, even those with no ties to performance enhancing drugs. Jeff Bagwell has similar numbers to Frank and dominated his league in the same timeframe that Frank played with no solid evidence that he used any steroids, only large amounts of speculation. He only got 41% of the vote on his first ballot. I know Frank will get more of the vote than that, but I'm not just not positive that it'll hit that 75% mark. I think the steroid cloud actually makes the "hall of fame personality" and ability to play in the field even more important to get a power hitter in. Writers may wait for Ken Griffey Jr. To become eligible before they elect a powerful hitter on his first ballot. Frank Thomas will be a hall of famer, but like I said before, I don't know that he has all of the qualities that the writers look for to make him a sure bet for his first ballot. You are right on about the fielding part. I really don't understand that though. I mean gold glove voters don't even pay attention to fielding anymore. They just vote for whoever won last year until they retire or get injured.

QUOTE (PlunketChris @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 12:28 PM) Being a first ballot Hall Of Famer is rare and seems reserved for those "perfect" players. Guys like Cal Ripken Jr., and Tony Gwynn were the obvious first ballot hall of famers of recent memory. They had sparkling personalities and truly represented the game during their time with no connection to any PED, drugs or cheating. I was a little surprised that a strange personality who played for nine different teams like Rickey Henderson got in on his first ballot in 2009, but his skill set was beyond what anyone had ever seen. Frank's numbers and dominance are staggering, he carried teams all throughout the 90's and into the 2000's. But he was never a media darling which could hold him back from getting that first ballot call. The 2014 ballot will also be the first for Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine who seem to be clearer "first ballot" personalities. 1999 is the only time that three players were voted in on their first ballot (George Brett, Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan) so it's not unprecedented, but also unlikely. 2014 will also be the second ballot for potential HOFers Mike Piazza, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds if none get in on their first vote. If Clemens and Bonds get in, that opens the door for a lot of the steroid era guys (McGwire, Sosa, Palmero, etc.) to get in the way of Frank, who appears to have a cleaner record. 2015 is a little softer on the new additions to the ballot, with only Randy Johnson really being a shoe in. John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield and Pedro Martinez are really the only other realistic candidates who come up for vote in 2015. It wouldn't shock me if Frank had to wait until his second year to get in. I wouldn't be surprised to see him make it on the first ballot, but part of me expects him to have to wait a year or two. I think being a big home run hitter who wasn't on steroids when everyone else was will help Frank the first year. I bet some voters are just dying to vote in a big home run hitter, but they can't bring themselves to vote for "cheaters" like McGwire, Bonds, and Sosa. Frank hit his way up the HR list without using steroids in the steroid era. I could see a lot of voters respecting that enough to vote for him 1st ballot.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jan 6, 2011 -> 09:57 AM) Cabs are heeYAAAHHHH! Nice...but I would have gone with T-SHIRT TIME!!!!!

Less than 12 hours away....

Trent Dilfer and Jay Mariotti

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 01:50 PM) And outside of having a degree to help establish you, your undergrad doesn't give you the skills necessary to become a millionaire or make 6 figures, etc. It just shows employers that you are capable of going through and accomplishing things. After that, most of what you learn that relates to your profession you learn in the field. This is my problem with college education today. I would like for people to be able to show employers that they are capable of accomplishing things without spending thousands of dollars and putting in 4 years of their lives. I am not saying college is worthless. I just think undergrad should just be treated more like grad school. At grad school they pound necessary skills students' heads so that they leave with marketable skills in their field that most other people don't have (some undergraduate majors do this too, but a lot don't). People should be able to work their way up the ladder at Enterprise Rent-A-Car without going into debt. The point of college education should be to learn useful skills. Instead it is more of a selection tool for employers. A bachelors degree is the new high school degree except it is more expensive.

QUOTE (G&T @ Jan 1, 2011 -> 07:43 AM) I think I relayed this story in the Finer Things thread, but we drove home for Christmas and I promised a friend that I'd grabbed some beers from Chicago. I planned to load up on 3F and Founders. Got to Binnys and all were sold out along with everything from Dogfishhead. I asked the clerked and he said they got one shipment a week and it sells out in an hour. Sure enough, as I wandered the aisles, 4 people asked about 3F beers. I had no clue this stuff was so popular. My father in law tracked a bunch down around Gurnee. I was really pissed about the Founders. I absolutely love Founders. I just tried their IPA. Two thumbs up! 7% abv as well.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 09:38 PM) According to Three Floyds' web site, you should have gotten their beer at the store that you went to. Yeah they carried other Three Floyd's beers, but the Gumballhead was not there. They carried a bunch of the other Bell's beers as well, but were out of the two hearted ale. Bad luck I guess.

QUOTE (knightni @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 08:17 PM) There are a few options: http://www.google.com/search?q=orland+park...ved=0CDoQtQMwAA Yeah I am moving on Sunday and will be within a mile of a Binnys. Just drinking some good beers and packing my s*** up tonight

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 01:25 PM) There is a difference between "doing things your way" and acting recklessly. In my humble opinion, the behavior of the Guillen family over the past year or 18 months would be characterized more towards the latter. Well put...

I went to Kenwood liquors to get the Gumballhead and the Bell's IPA. They were out of the Bell's and didn't have the Gumballhead. Instead I picked up a Flossmoor Station Pullmans Brown which was fantastic, and a Founders Centennial IPA that one of the workers recommended to me (haven't tried it yet). Also found a Spaten Oktoberfest in the back of the fridge which was a treat as well.

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 01:56 PM) Oh yes, and it is awesome. I could go for a glass right now! I think it was on my list... Mine too, so we should see it on the honorable mentions

QUOTE (G&T @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 08:21 AM) Color me unimpressed but unsurprised by this grouping. Most people's access to different beer will be in a Sam Adams variety pack, and Blue Moon is what it is. So to offer a bit of variety myself, here are some that I recommend as alternates to the beers from the last 5 that should be easy to come by. Some may appear in the top 5, but I doubt it. Sam Adams Octoberfest - Probably the best to style Sam Adams and may well deserve its place here. For an alternate, try a Spaten instead - a traditional marzen and one of the few permitted to be sold during Octoberfest. Most will find that the Sam Adams version is better (and I might not be able to disagree), but I think the Spaten is the richer brew. Spaten does make a great Oktoberfest. That is one I have been drinking since college. Have you tried Spaten Optimator? Definitely another favorite of mine, and I am sad it did not make this list.

QUOTE (jasonxctf @ Dec 31, 2010 -> 12:13 AM) The value of education has never been clearer. The unemployment rate for people who never graduated high school is 15 percent--depression-level joblessness. For high-school grads with no college, unemployment is 10.4 percent, and for college grads it's just 4.9 percent. Yeah but its hard out there for recent college grads. I am amazed at how many people I know that are either unemployed, or waiting tables/bartending/driving trucks etc. Not that there is anything wrong with those job, its just most people don't pay thousands of dollars to get a degree and then do those jobs. ALOT of recent grads are very underemployed right now. I also don't think a college degree is necessary for a lot of jobs that require one. I am not against higher education (I am in school getting a masters degree right now), I just think that there are a lot of flaws with the entire college system in general, but that is another argument for another day.

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 12:42 PM) I learned that Tim Hasselbeck isn't particularly a fan either. Yay for loser quarterbacks that work for espn hating the Bears! It's like they see Jay and his bad mechanics and want him to suck because they did... Anyways, what would you guys do this Sunday...play the starters the whole game? Play them half the game? Not play them at all? Play the starters. If they win, they continue to carry the momentum into the playoffs. If they lose, they will have something to prove again. Win-win. With that said, anything that resembles an injury to a starter should result in the player being pulled for the rest of the game, unless that starter is an O-lineman and Cutler is still in the game

QUOTE (iamshack @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 12:33 PM) I went down there a few weekends ago to get a tshirt for my stepdad and ran into Chummly as he was leaving...he had to run to a magazine shoot for his tattoos with Big Hoss. Pretty funny how big of a celebrity he is there....everyone was grabbing at him and stuff. Thats awesome. What if you wanted to sell something to them? Is there like a screening process to try and sell stuff to the guys on the tv show? How far is the shop from the strip?

QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 12:21 PM) Aren't most of those shows just different backgrounds for people yelling at each other? No, Pawn Stars is awesome.

I will be hoping to make this analogy come February. 2005 White Sox: Jay Mariotti as 2010 Bears: Trent Dilfer

Injuries are hardly an excuse in the NFL anymore. It seems like any team can beat any other team at any point, and it happens a lot. Browns over the Pats, Vikings with a 3rd string QB over the Eagles. The Bengals lost both of their starting WR's before last weeks game and then beat the Chargers. The Colts entire offense seems to be injured and Manning is going to take them to the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Panthers beat the Falcons and watch the Saints take the 1 seed. I just don't see both of them losing. One thing is for sure, nothing is a given in the NFL this year.

QUOTE (BigSqwert @ Dec 30, 2010 -> 10:25 AM) I don't see how you could say that. This poll indicates quite clearly that there are quite a few players out there that would never want to play for an Ozzie led club. I tend to be critical of a poll that only states "A survey of 100 random major league players are asked 20-some questions." I want more information than this about the survey and probably a larger sample size.

Summer Shandy has been the exception of fruity beers. I am not a fan of any beer with cherry and rasberry. Even though the lime beers sound appealing, no on has gotten it right. I expected Summer Shandy to be too sweet when I first tried it and I was pleasantly surprised. It is very refreshing and has a good balance to it.

For as much of a disaster as this list appeared it was going to be, I am very impressed with some of the beers that made it. I think it may turn me into an alcoholic because I need to a lot of these. The Bell's Ale looks fantastic and I am still itching to pick up that Gumball Head. I do like that the Modelo made the list too. I always thought it was an underrated beer.

I also thought I would have to add my hatred for Stella. I think it tastes terrible and would take a Corona over it anytime. On the other hand, I can't wait to try some of these other craft beers listed that I have not had a chance to yet.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Dec 29, 2010 -> 07:26 AM) My wife got a PhD in I/O Psych (Experimental - not Clinical). She received an assistantship which covered her tuition and school costs, and provided a very, very meager salary. She could live on it, barely, but if anything ever went wrong, she'd have been quickly buried financially. In I/O, people can be successful with a Masters, but a PhD is obviously better. I am in a terminal masters program right now for I/O, and considering applying to PhD programs (even though I am most likely going to try and enter directly into the field after graduation). Just out of curiosity, what exactly does your wife do?